Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul hold the record for the most balls faced by an Indian pair for the sixth wicket in the fourth innings of a test match.
Rishabh Pant & KL Rahul - 267 balls
England had already taken an unassailable lead of 3-1 in the five match test series the last time India toured the country for a test series in 2018. The last test match was played at the Kennington Oval in London where India were set a target of 463 in the final innings after England declared their second innings at 423 for 8.
Unexpectedly, KL Rahul decided to go after the bowlers from the outset. He struck 21 fours and one six. Rahul lasted for 224 balls and was finally bowled by Adil Rashid off a delivery that suddenly fizzed off the surface just one shy of 150.
Rahul got a great ally in Rishabh Pant who blasted 114 off just 146 deliveries. Pant batted at a strike rate of 78.08, smacking 15 fours and 4 sixes. Unfortunately for India, none of the other middle order batsmen could make contributions with each of Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Hanuma Vihari scoring blobs.
India came tantalisingly close to the improbable target, courtesy of the 267-ball partnership between KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant. However, once the two fell in quick succession, the Indian tail folded up and the team lost by 118 runs.
Nayan Mongia & Sachin Tendulkar - 266 balls
Nayan Mongia and Sachin Tendulkar added 136 runs for the 6th wicket while batting for 266 deliveries. When they joined, the score read 82 for 5. When the partnership was finally broken, India were at 218 for 6 in the last innings of the Chennai test match against Pakistan.
R Ashwin & Hanuma Vihari - 256 balls India had their backs against the wall after several injuries in the third test match of the four-match series between India and Australia in 2020-21. With Rohit Sharma having lost his wicket overnight, the Australian quartet was expected to clean up the Indian batting line up easily on day 5.
The Indian team though had other plans. Cheteshwar Pujara held one end up. Rishabh Pant then went hammer and tongs from the other end. He was unfortunately dismissed on 97. With Hanuma Vihari having torn his hamstring, Ravindra Jadeja broken his thumb and Ravi Ashwin suffering a back spasm, the only option that India had was to play for a draw and they did that beautifully, with Ashwin and Vihari remaining unbeaten during their 256-ball partnership.
